Author Interview!

Hey, guys! Today in honor of Utah Book Month I have the great pleasure to interview author Becca Wilhite. I'm so excited because I loved both her books. Thank goodness, right? ;) I tease, I tease! Becca is the author of Bright Blue Miracle and My Ridiculous Romantic Obsessions which I reviewed just last week here.
Now on to the interview, shall we?

I have to ask. What are some of your favorite books?
 I am a compulsive re-reader. If I love a book, I'll read it over and over. This year's favorite is, hands down, John Green's "THE FAULT IN OUR STARS" which I've already read twice in six months and talked about obsessively. It's gorgeous. Every sentence I read makes me (think I'm getting) smarter. I breathe in his words and live in envy of his brilliance. And his humor. And the romance, the pathos, the tragedy. (Are you convinced that you should try it?) Other books I've read till pages fell out and I had to buy new copies? "THE BOOK THIEF," "THE POISONWOOD BIBLE," "PRIDE AND PREJUDICE," "PEACE LIKE A RIVER," "TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD," and "LES MISERABLES."


I was very excited to discover that My Ridiculous Romantic Obsessions was about a college student, not a high school student. It's hard to find books with college aged characters. Was there a reason you chose to make Sarah older?
I wanted to write something for the kid I once was - the girl ready to move toward the next step. In this case, college. I had heard about "new adult" books (not much since I wrote this one, though) -- books aimed at the age group between YA and adult fiction. I love that age. I loved being that age. But I remember (all too well) the angst of insecurity. (Incidentally, editors apparently say there's not a market for this age group. They may be right, but I'm not sorry to have put Sarah and Ben in college.)

I really love the covers of your books! I know authors don't often have a say on what their covers look like. Did you? And what do you think of the covers?
I cried when I saw them. Tears of worry. I got over it, both times. :) With "Bright Blue Miracle" I wondered who would ever pick up a book with feet on the cover. I mean, FEET? Come on. But I did get over it before too long. About the time I bought all the blue OPI nail polish I could find.

And with MRRO, I gasped at that beautiful, thin, long-necked redhead. In my head, Sarah is ... rounder. A lot. And she has wicked black curls. But then this willowy Sarah started to grow on me. So even though I'm not actually a fan of humans on covers, I have come to love it. Both of them.

I didn't have any say in the covers, but the publisher did send me digital mock-ups a few months before the books were printed. It was perfect -- just enough time for me to learn to LOVE them. :)

When you're not writing what else do you enjoy doing?
I have a really great husband. And 4 kids. So I do a whole lot of family-ness. I have a part-time job. I teach writing classes. I love to cook. And eat. And read books. I take walks and mow the lawn and clean a fishbowl (because I don't do furry pets. Or furry-green glass fishbowls.)

What's next? Are you working on anything new?
I signed with an agent (Meredith Kaffel with DeFiore & Co) this spring. She's terrific. She's very editorial, and is holding my hand through a rash of revisions. Hopefully I'll be ready to submit this YA fantasy masterpiece this fall. :) (I'll let you know.)

Thank you so much, Becca. I'm so excited to hear more about this new book coming out. 

My Ridiculous, Romantic Obsessions

Sarah Howard's first year at the university is everything and nothing she expected especially when a very cute boy named Ben in her Art History class starts to show interest in her.

Sarah feels like she's an average, normal, everyday girl. So, when Ben (to whom she secretly refers as Adonis because she thinks he could be a Greek god) begins to take interest in her, Sarah is in denial. For one thing, last year she was deeply crushed and humiliated by Jesse James a guy who she thought liked her.

She's determined not to get burned again. But in her heart of hearts, what she really wants is a Jane Austen kind of romance. Ridiculous, right? That kind of romance doesn t exist anymore . . . or does it? Sarah is smart and fun to be around and even pretty, despite her Medusa-like red curls. She even plays the guitar. (So does Ben!) Yes, Sarah is everything Ben has wanted. He's crazy for her, but Sarah is just not getting it. She's playing hard to get, and if she s not careful, she s going to lose a real hot gentleman -- her 21st-century Mr. Darcy. (From Goodreads)

Bright Blue Miracle

Seventeen-year-old Leigh Mason is not sure she's ready to share her mom, her bedroom, and her little sisters with her new stepsister, Betsy. And she's definitely not ready to share her best friend, who happens to be a boy! Coping with a blended family is not easy for either Leigh or Betsy, especially during their senior year in high school. Each step brings them nearer to a crisis that will either send them running in different directions or bind them firmly together (which, let's face it, would take a miracle).Bright Blue Miracle is a new young adult novel that has everything a girl wants: a hero (more specifically, a really cute boy), a villain (who happens to be a stepsister), comedy, despair, pedicures, ice cream, love, hate, tennis, revenge, and, of course, a couple of surprises that might send you for some tissues. (From Goodreads)